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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27087397">Harmless as a Dove</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerialKillerQueen/pseuds/SerialKillerQueen'>SerialKillerQueen</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Fix-It, Hopeful Ending, Mercyfic, Other, Sharing a Body, Stream of Consciousness, do not copy to another site, unbeta’d</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-09 02:46:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>488</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27087397</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerialKillerQueen/pseuds/SerialKillerQueen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Maybe things turn out differently.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dani Clayton &amp; Viola Lloyd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Harmless as a Dove</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In one life Dani rests at the bottom of a lake, and she wanders the grounds, harmless as a dove. But in this life...</p><p>Perhaps things go differently.</p><p>Perhaps Viola becomes content, resting in Dani’s heart and mind.</p><p>Perhaps her anger is calmed and her confusion is lessened.</p><p>She does not forget, she may sleep (she is not sure if it is sleep, but if it is, it is a more restful sleep than before, tucked away in the body of a selfless woman, entangled with her soul).</p><p>For a time, (a short time? A long time?) she is only aware in fleeting moments, usually staring back into two mismatched eyes from the water, eyes that usually widen in horror when they meet hers (or her lack of eyes rather).</p><p>But gradually she becomes aware of more. (And perhaps she remembers more, perhaps she remembers who she was and is).</p><p>She can taste what the woman can, can sometimes feel the warmth of the sun on her skin, or the smell of flowers that is ever present. She begins to hear her when she speaks, and can feel the things she feels, not as her own, but she knows what they are.</p><p>Dani, (one of the things she hears is the woman’s name, and she <em>thinks</em> she’s glad to know it) is content, overall, she’s happy with her life, and that is...nice. But there is so much fear.</p><p>Of her, of her presence, of her growing awareness, of what she could do.</p><p>She’s not sure <em>she</em> knows what she will do. Or at least she didn’t at first, she accepted, and she’s not entirely sure why, but things feel so different now.</p><p>She wakes, Dani is tucked away, she walks. Sometimes she walks around Dani’s home, sometimes she steps outside (she never goes far). There is not a purpose to it, no confusion, no anger, she just wants to walk without it being on that same path, trailing muddy footprints through her former house, looking for something she knows now she would never find.</p><p>And it’s never for long, Dani will start to stir and she will take them back into the house and into the bed and step back and let Dani wake up.</p><p>Eventually Dani will realize what is happening, she already suspects, small things out of place in the mornings that she can’t help but notice, as hyper-aware as she is now. </p><p>Viola has no desire to tuck her away for good, she wants more, but she doesn’t want to steal it all. She remembers some of the lives she stole, hands wrapped around their necks, and she doesn’t think Dani deserves that, doesn’t think she’s willing to do it. </p><p>She will wake, and she will walk, and one day (if there is a way) her and Dani will talk, and perhaps on that day, in this life, things will turn out differently. <em>Better.</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Every time I write the first fic for a fandom it makes me wanna cry from frustration, why is it so hard! <br/>I hope you guys enjoy. This idea popped into my head almost immediately post the final episode, but I see now that a lot of people have written a similar idea, I did read those fics and they have a level of inspiration for the particulars of this fic, so credit where it's due!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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